Two Ways Out
by Claykalin
Summary: AU set between Frostbite and Shadow Kissed, and during Harry's fifth year. St Vladimir's location has been compromised and now the students are in danger. After struggling to find a new school, the students find themselves welcomed into Hogwarts. With two types of magic conflicting with each other, how will the students fare? Rated T just in case
1. Chapter 1: The Announcement

**Chapter One - The Announcement**

_**A/N**__: Hi there! Long time reader and writer, first time publisher. This idea came to me about three hours ago and I've just been frantically writing since then. This is the first chapter (no, really?), and I've got some outlines for a school years worth of studying and funtimes so I'll see how that pans out. Anyways I just wanted to put the first chapter up and see how it goes._

_Please review I'd love to hear your thoughts, I'll try and put the next chapter up tomorrow night but no promises - biology excursion to examine plants and stuff..._

_The first chapter offers a smidge more explanation on what is actually happening so if you've clicked on this thinking "hmm what's that about?" then read through it's not long... hehe... but this pretty much sets the stage for what follows._

_Enjoy :)  
_

_**Disclaimer:** The following story is based on the excellent works of J.K. Rowling and Richelle Mead, they are not mine. Not including the characters you don't recognise, which are mine._

_**Also**: Being Australian, I may have a few spelling variations to what you may or may not be used to, just skim over them and try not to let them get to you. But let me know if you think there's something wrong :)_

_ ..._

Principle Kirova called us to her office at the end of the school day.

Outside, the sky was starting to brighten. It was a dark shade of purple, and the horizon to the east held the faintest of glows.

Rose came with me, and, at Kirova's request, as did Eddie, Christian, and a couple of other novice Dhampirs who I couldn't name, though Rose seemed to know them.

One was a girl, who had her long wavy hair tied in a ponytail, and she was talking to a tall boy with short, black hair. There was another novice walking silently behind them with shoulder length, sand coloured hair which he'd tied into a ponytail.

_With his hair like that, he must be one of Dimitri's worshippers_.

"Good afternoon, everyone." Kirova welcomed us into her office, where a number of chairs had been brought in to accommodate us all. She used afternoon like the rest of us did. It might be early morning, but it was the end of our waking day, so after midnight was 'afternoon' and before midnight was 'morning'. Not exactly, but in a greeting sense, that was how we worked.

"Sit down, we have much to explain," a new voice said, and Dimitri appeared out of the shadows to my right. I may have jumped a little, as did Christian, but none of the novices seemed fazed.

"Lissa, take that one," Rose said, pointing me to a soft, blue-cushioned chair right in front of Kirova's desk. It was obviously for me, being Royal and all.

To be honest, I can never quite get used to all of this special treatment, and everyone else will keep surprising me with new ways of care. Like getting the most comfy looking chair and not having to sit behind anyone. No one moved until I had made my way through the assembled chairs to the one Rose had indicated. I looked at them shyly before taking my seat, and then Christian came to sit by my left.

After that, the novices had a bit of a scuffle over who got which chairs, though no one tried to compete with Rose for the chair to my right. Eddie was behind me and Christian, with the girl to his left and the two boys to his right behind Rose. Dimitri remained standing by the wall and Kirova came around to take her seat.

"I hope you realise how grave the situation is," the Principle began, "as it has been decided by the Board of Governors and the Heads of the Royal Families that St. Vladimir's location is no longer safe."

There were gasps at this, though no one interrupted with words. Kirova's voice was too serious for idle banter and arguing.

"The Strigoi attack has brought us to the conclusion that this school's location is now known outside of our confidants, and we cannot risk anyone's lives by remaining here. Wards and guardians can only help us so much if the Strigoi are forming large bands and working with humans."

"What are you gonna do with us then?" Rose asked, leaning forward. "Where will we go?"

"Rose," Dimitri warned, and she bit her lip and sat back a little.

"We are building a new school," Kirova told us. "We had originally hoped to simply divide up the student body and send you to different Moroi establishments until the new school is ready, but few schools have the resources for more students. In total, the other schools here can only accept a quarter of the senior student body, and half of the the middle school and elementary students."

"So we're off school until you've built a new one?" Christian grinned, but I quickly silenced him with a glare. This was no joking matter, no matter how much Christian hates school.

"Hardly," Kirova replied, giving him a similar glare. "We have been put in touch with an English school who has offered to take everyone, and they have prepared for everyone to come over in a fortnight. For now, we have agreed to send ten students to help ease our students with theirs."

"Is it for Moroi _and_ Dhampirs?" Eddie asked from behind me. It was a valid question. I know for a fact there are three schools here that only offer Moroi education, but none offer Dhampir-only so it's not very even, especially when there are many more Dhampirs that Moroi.

"Neither," Kirova said, and Rose choked.

"So what; a school for humans?" She demanded. "How's that going to work?"

"Miss Hathaway, calm down. It is a school for witches and wizards."

"So they're like us?" I asked, my mind reeling with the information. "They study the elements; they could teach us so much if that's the case. I've read British Magic is slightly different to ours, they could have their own spells for things we've never even thought of trying. They could have... People like me." _There could be spirit users who could help Rose and I control the bond. I could learn to control it better and keep the darkness from hurting Rose._

"Not quite, Princess. They actually _are_ witches and wizards. They learn wand magic that isn't tied down to the elements; levitation and the like. They even fly using brooms, and some of these older wizards can shape-shift into animals."

"Flying on broomsticks?" Christian snorted, "Is this a joke?"

"How are the parents going to agree with sending us to London for school?" I asked. "Or wherever it is. How are we going to pay for it? How do we get there? What-"

"Princess, I assure you," Kirova said, "Everything has been or will be taken care of. Payment will not change from the normal school fees everyone pays, and your curriculum will not be altered, save for a few extra classes that you may take if you'd like. They cannot allow us to attend magic classes, as they require an inner magic we do not have. But some of their subjects do not need wand-magic, and you may undertake one of them along with their first years if you're interested. In the meantime, you will study as you would here. There will be the same tests and exams, and you must pass them." Her eyes flickered over Rose a little longer than anyone else's as she finished.

"So why are you telling us this?" Eddie asked.

"You seven have been nominated to be among the first ten to go. You may decline, but know that after two weeks you will be going anyway. Does anyone wish to stay?"

No one said anything. I was eager to try this new school, if only to find someone like myself among these British magicians. It seemed a small chance, but I would take it.

"Very well," Kirova smiled, happy we had all accepted, "We are still short three people. There are a number of other choices, but we thought it best to find a group that know and got along with each other first. Are there any suggestions?"

"Can Adrian come?" I immediately asked. I was not going on a hunt for more Spirit users without him. "He could help out in their cafeteria if anything, but please can he come?"

"As I understand it, they do not need help with meal services. Something about Elves doing all the cooking and cleaning. Now that is _not_ an excuse to be a mess everywhere you go. However, Princess, I will send an invitation to Mr. Ivashkov, and whilst I doubt he has any demand on his time here, do not count on him coming with you. Anyone else?"

"Mia Rinaldi," Rose said. I looked at her, and she shrugged at me. "She's not so bad once you get to know her and she's not trying to socially murder you. Besides, she could probably do with a break from people here anyway."

"And she's working with me," Christian said, giving me a knowing look before turning back to Kirova. "We're paired for a Moroi Culture assignment; it wouldn't be fair to our grade to split us up for two weeks, how would we get the work done on time?" The teachers here didn't yet know that they were practicing offensive magic.

"Very well," Kirova said, writing Mia's name down on a list in front of her. "Anyone else, or shall we choose two others to go with you?"

"Could Stephania Kahlua come with us?" asked the girl beside Eddie. Rose gave an annoyed groaning noise that only I heard and slumped down in her seat a little.

"I'm afraid not, her mother had just had a son and I doubt Miss Kahlua would like to be taken from her mother and brother any sooner than she must."

"Thank God." Rose muttered.

"Princess Dragomir, Mr. Ozera, I was hoping you might have some Moroi suggestions to even out the group a little?"

"Jesse Zeklos." Christian said after a moment of thought.

"You're not serious, are you?" Rose scoffed, looking past me at Christian, who looked cruelly happy about something.

"Come on, can you imagine that asshole if he was the only one of his group coming with us to a school where they're so different from us? He'll be a regular source of entertainment."

"Mr. Ozera. That is not what I meant when I asked for suggestions." Kirova frowned at him.

"Actually, Headmistress Kirova, Jesse would be a great help." I said, turning up my compulsion just a little bit. Kirova looked at me, not in the least suspicious as I continued. "I've been helping Christian and Jesse practice a fire spell they found in an old Romanian book and they're getting really good at it, please may he come with us?"

"Very well," Kirova said, blinking before turning back to Christian. "But you had better be on your best behaviour. The same rules that apply here apply over there; no bullying, no thievery, no misbehaving."

"Yes, Headmistress," Christian said, nodding solemnly.

"Alright, we need one more person. Princess?"

"Um..." I really couldn't think of anyone else I wanted to come, so I turned to Rose. "Can you think of anyone else to drag along with us?"

Rose looked at me with her eyebrows raised before taking on a very thoughtful look. She could feel me through the bond; _just pick any Dhampir worth bringing, someone nice, someone who won't be rude to me or Christian. Maybe a friend for that other girl._ Then she smiled.

"Can we bring Katalina Petrovsky?" she asked. She felt my confusion through the bond so turned to me. "She's a novice with me and Meredith. You'll like her, though she's pretty quiet."

"Very well," Kirova said, adding Katalina's name to her list. "Please head to your rooms at once and pack your belongings. You do not need to take your uniforms, you will receive new ones upon arrival. However novices; take you training clothes with you as your combat lessons will continue as usual. Be back here in two hours, sunrise, and we'll head off."

"So soon?" I asked, startled.

"Princess, this is a dangerous situation," Kirova told me, "We need to get everyone to a new, safe location."

"Where are we even going?" Christian asked. "All you've said is an English school."

"Apologies, we will all be heading to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, who's location is well-guarded and apparently magicked into being unplottable. I'm not sure how they managed that, but it's somewhere in the Scotland."

"We're flying to _Scotland_?" Rose asked.

"You will be going to London first, where you will be able to be fitted for new uniforms and get school books, and then catch a train to the school. The train leaves at eleven o'clock on the first, eleventh and twenty-first of every month. It takes the day to get to the school, and there will be other magicians on the train so _be on your guard_."

Rose nodded fiercely, and I could only imagine Eddie and the other novices behind me with similar looks of commitment. It scares me how willingly they would put themselves in danger to protect myself and other Moroi.

"Very well, off you go. Guardian Belikov, see to it that Miss Rinaldi, Mr Zeklos and Miss Petrovsky are notified and ready to leave in two hours. Make sure they don't tell anyone what's going on, we'll have an assembly later this week to inform the entire student body."

Dimitri nodded and left at once.

"I will see you all back here soon." Kirova finished, "Don't take too long with your goodbyes, it _is_ only two weeks."

The next two hours were a slight blur, but I was packed quickly and as Christian was too, we dropped our suitcases off at the Headmistresses office andwe took a silent stroll around the courtyard to say goodbye to St Vladimir's.

I think I took this school for granted. If we weren't compromised, I would not have to worry about the outside world until I graduate, and I guess I just wasn't ready for it yet. I know it's just a school, and I hope it won't be torn down – surely it's heritage listed or something? – but I grew up in these walls.

I was here since kindergarten, when Rose had thrown a book at a teacher to save us from spelling. It was here that I learnt magic, basic fire and air spells. It was in this library that I spent night after night searching for answers to why I hadn't specialised. This was where I found my faith, found love, found sadness, found sanctuary, and I didn't want to leave it any earlier than I absolutely needed to.

Though I guess the current situation means I do need to leave. I am the last of the Dragomir family and I cannot let this great Royal Line die out. It has meant too much in the past, we have had some of the greatest monarchs in American history. I will not let my ancestors down.

Christian was nice; he held my hand but remained quiet. He's good like that; he knows when to talk, but he also knows when to just be there for me and not say anything at all. It's why I love him.

I went into Church to see the Priest one last time. He said he was staying with the Church to catalogue all the documents the Church hid. He'd been doing it for a year or so now, and without students he would be able to focus more on it and finish it quicker. He might even find out more about how St. Vladimir overcame his spirit darkness with Anna, something Rose and I had approached him about not too long ago.

We sat for some time on a stone bench on the edge of campus, facing the slow sunrise. The sky was by now starting to colour, with pastel blues and purples, and the clouds were framed in orange and pink. It was a magic in itself. Air users can occasionally control various weather phenomena but it takes a strong user teamed with an equally strong water user to orchestrate a beautiful sunrise such as this.

Rose came to join me with not too long to go until our deadline. I guessed she knew through the bond that I needed a quiet space, so she sat there quietly, comfortably sitting shoulder to shoulder with me, whilst Christian held my hand and slowly drew circles with his thumb. He was a strong comfort in times like this.

I don't know why leaving felt so foreboding. It didn't feel wrong, I wasn't scared, I couldn't sense any danger like when Victor and Natalie were such a threat or even back before Rose and I left the school. It was a different type of scared. And we weren't just leaving for Moroi Court a couple of states away; we were going to Europe, to a school for teenage magicians-in-training.

I may be a little scared of change?

With the eastern sky turning orange and flecks of gold announced the sun's near arrival, we knew it was time to go, and soon we were back at Kirova's.

The Dhampir girl from earlier was there, along with whom I assumed to be Katalina. The two stood side by side with an awkward air of trying and failing at talking, though Katalina herself was quietly watching everyone and everything. Her hair was the same dark brown as Rose's, but it was cut short to keep her neck bare and instead grew out in every direction but down. Coupled with her glasses, Katalina did not look like a guardian, but I guess she holds the advantage of not looking like an immediate threat. A situation which I'm sure works for her.

Jesse was there, looking none too pleased with his arms crossed and a sour look on his face. Christian smirked beside me but said nothing.

Mia was there, looking confused but excited. I wonder how much she knows yet? She smiled when she saw us and came over to say hello.

"Did you guys hear? We're going to _London_! How cool is that?"

Excitement bubbled out of Mia like I'd never thought possible. Looking at us, you'd never know she used to hate my guts. "I asked Kirova and she said they can look into bringing my dad over to work at the school! For wizards – what's that about? Maybe we can try getting wands, too, do you think it could make our magic stronger?"

She turned to Christian and continued, barely pausing for the breath I'm certain she'd need to keep talking "Christian, we could use them for offensive magic, surely they know more attack spells than us? Do you think they'd have them banned as well? Ah I'm so excited! It'll be good to get away from the Strigoi here, too. I asked a Guardian who said they'd been there before and he said there's practically _no Strigoi_ there! Why haven't we gone there earlier?"

"You're anticipating this a lot more than I am," I smiled at her, " Aren't you scared of leaving?"

"Why would I be scared?" She grinned at me, "Loosen up, _Princess_, life's an adventure, get on board!"

"Is everyone ready to go?" Kirova appeared at the end of the hallway and beckoned us all to follow her. I picked up the suitcase I'd left here earlier and followed everyone else. Jesse had stormed off ahead, followed by the Katalina and the Dhampir girl, the sandy-haired boy, and then myself with Rose and Christian. Eddie and Mia were behind us, talking animatedly about what possibly awaited us, and behind them was the last Dhampir boy from earlier.

Apart from Jesse, everyone was excited to get on the plane and all of us were glued to our windows as the school fell below us and then behind us. The windows were tinted but I drew the curtain anyway and began to fill with so much anticipation I didn't know it was physically possible.

A tear may have fallen, but I wasn't sad. It's always upsetting to say goodbye to such a large part of your life, but at the same time it's not a _part_ of life to stay in the same place, and the same routine, forever. Change is a part of life as much as anything else is; you have to embrace it to enjoy it. I am now resolved to be embracing of this new chapter in my life. And I have my best friend and my boyfriend to share it with.


	2. Chapter 2: A Change of Scenery

**Chapter Two - A Change of Scenery**

_**A/N**: Lalala. Welcome back! Hope you enjoy the next installment! Hope you like it :)_

_**Disclaimer:** The following story is based on the excellent works of J.K. Rowling and Richelle Mead, they are not mine. Not including the characters you don't recognise, which are mine._

On the plane, I sat with Christian beside me and Rose sat across from us with Mia, with a table between us. Underneath the table was the games we'd already played; Game of Life, Scrabble and Rummikub. Now we are playing Backgammon.

Christian doesn't know how to play, so he and I are on the same team against Rose and Mia. Mia knows how to play, but Rose only knows how to play because I do; she accessed the bond to find how to play before we started. Of course, because she accessed my memories on how to play; we have similar styles and strategies, so it's an even game.

Across from us in another four-chaired area was Jesse sulking by himself. Really, he didn't need a four chair section, but being a Royal pain he did have second choice of seating, after me. Not that I abuse my position, we're using our area. Jesse has just collapsed the table, put his feet up on the chair opposite, and is now asleep.

Behind us are five rows of double seats on either side of the aisle. It's one of the smaller, faster planes the academy owns. The Dhampirs were spread out comfortably, and I think most of them were asleep as I could only hear one conversation; between Eddie and the girl from the meeting. She came to say hello before takeoff and introduced herself as Meredith.

Rose tells me that there are only the four girls in her year; herself, Meredith, Katalina and Stephania, and that Katalina's up in the top of the class with Rose and Eddie.

The two boys also introduced themselves to me. The sandy-haired boy was Jason, and the tall one was Samuel. Samuel seems friendly enough, whilst Jason has a more scary demeanour.

"What do you think is in London?" Mia asked, rolling double fours and moving accordingly. "I mean, why can't we go straight to Scotland or whatever?"

"They said uniforms and books," I said, "What books though?"

"Kirova said wand magic like levitation," Rose offered, frowning at the game board.

"Yeah but they must know more than that!" Mia pointed out, "It's a high school right? So they learn other stuff. Like maybe... um... shrinking stuff? Turning metal into gold? What about changing hair colour?"

"And then they do potions," Christian pondered. He sat back in his chair with his eyes closed, having long since given up on understanding Backgammon. "Lots of magical lotions to make your skin pretty and other crap like that."

"Maybe a potion to help us walk in the sunlight for longer?" Mia said, smiling. "That'd be nice."

"Yeah, how's that going to work?" I asked. "Do we still have night classes? Or are they going to make us get out in the sunlight to walk between buildings?"

"Dunno, have to wait and see, I guess."

"They wouldn't put you in a position like that," Rose said, "The safety of the Moroi is paramount, the Guardians aren't going to force you in overwhelming sunlight. Maybe the school is indoors or has tunnels for you to use."

We fell into silence after that, and it didn't take long for me to win the game. We packed it up and no one suggested another. Christian fell asleep and soon after I must have for the next thing I knew a guardian I didn't know was coming down the aisle to secure the games in an overheard locker and telling us to put our seat belts on and straighten up our chairs.

I pulled aside the curtain to see a city of lights sprawling beneath us; London. It was beautiful.

"What time is it here?" Rose asked, not looking away from her window.

"Almost eleven," a new voice said. Dimitri had appeared, standing beside Mia.

"What are you doing here?" Rose demanded, looking up at him. Her hands flew to the seat belt keeping her from standing.

"While I have absolute faith in your abilities and those of your companions, we are not going to send Princess Dragomir, Mr. Ozera and Mr. Zeklos here to the other side of the Atlantic without some protection." Dimitri said, the ghost of a smile gracing his expression. "We're here for you, too, Mia, and the rest of you. Besides, you'll need someone to run your guardian sessions."

"You're training us?" Eddie's voice came from behind me. He sounded excited.

"For now it will be just myself and Guardian Tekovitch," Dimitri answered, nodding his head towards the other guardian who was sitting at the front of the plane. "He will take your theory classes, I will be present for combat classes. Once everyone else comes in two weeks, everything will be back to normal in terms of teachers, and your schedules shouldn't change too much."

"Guardian Belikov?" Mia asked, "When will the classes be? During the day or night?"

"During the day with the rest of the school. It's one big castle so the sunlight shouldn't bother you too much. As for any outdoor classes you wish to attend; we're working on having evening classes."

"Can we learn wand magic?" Rose asked. I'm sure she'd find it useful, not to mention interesting. She's a Dhampir; so of course she can't wield magic and would jump at the possibility of doing so. That might not stand for all Dhampirs, but Rose seems pretty keen.

"No, it's a magic that comes out of you. I don't think there are any Moroi or Dhampirs who wield their kind of magic." For myself and other Moroi, we understand what it means for magic to come from within. For Rose, it is another challenge. I can just imagine her stealing some poor kid's wand and trying to use it.

Rose must have heard my thoughts for she turned to me with an indignant "Hey!" before being hushed by Dimitri.

Dimitri returned to the front shortly after, and I felt the entire plane move as it dipped it's nose and descended. The lights of London spread out, came closer, grew brighter, I don't know how to describe it, but I'd never seen so many lights sprawled out and watching them as the plane lowered was something so strange and wonderful but at the same time so pointless that I loved it and will never forget it.

"Lissa, you're being dramatic," Rose said, a smile playing on her lips, "Calm the poetry down; you're ruining this for me. They are just lights."

"There is nothing wrong with enjoying the little things in life," I defended.

"Yeah, yeah, sappiness," she poked her tongue out at me, and then laughed when she felt my indignation rise.

The plane jolted as it hit the tarmac, waking Christian, and the cabin filled with the sound of the plane slowing down, and soon enough we were shepherded off of the plane into a cold winter night in London. It wasn't snowing, but the wind was like ice.

"This way, Princess," the other guardian, Tekovitch, directed, "We can't be out in the open too long."

There may be few Strigoi dangers out here, but this is still a big city. I'm grateful they're taking care of me; I'd be scared if I was out here alone, Princess or not.

"It's okay, Liss," Rose said, appearing by my side. "I'm right here. So is Christian. You're safe."

_And I'm not alone. Thanks._

She nodded and we followed Tekovitch to a lit up hanger which offered some protection from the wind, and awaiting us were three black sedans.

"Princess," Dimitri said, opening the door to the first car.

"Is Rose coming with me?" I asked, my voice a little higher than I would have liked it to be.

"Of course," he said, giving a slight bow as I slid into the car.

We drove for half an hour to a dingy pub whose door I mistook for a pillar between two other stores. Inside, it was dark and smoky, though my heightened Moroi senses allowed me to see it all. A sign above the bar proclaimed "The Leaky Cauldron", a strange name if ever there was one. Dimitri went straight over and was handed a number of room keys, and we quickly made our way upstairs.

Rose, Mia and I shared one room, with Christian, Jesse and Eddie right across the hall. The rooms were not five-star accommodation, but they were quaint, and we each had a double bed and table. I thought I'd slept enough on the plane, but the minute my head hit the pillow I was gone. It may have been because Rose was there, alert and ready to go. I would trust my life to her, as I'm sure she knows.

I woke up in the night to find a shadow on my bed. _André_. He didn't say anything, just sat there watching me. Then he smiled before silently disappearing into nothing.

Eventually, I woke up to find sunlight streaming through the thin curtains over the window. Mia, who was still asleep, lay in a bed by the window and was bathed in the light. I don't know how long the sunlight had been on her, but any longer she would break out in rashes and her skin would dry up very fast.

I crept over to Rose and tapped her gently on the shoulder. She immediately sat up, pulling a stake from beneath her pillow.

"What is it?" she demanded, her eyes searching for a threat.

"It's nothing, shhh," I whispered, then pointed at the sunlight, "Can you do something about the curtains? Mia's going to get burnt in her sleep."

Rose groaned. She pulled a bath robe on and concealed her stake within the folds before leaving the room. She returned with some thick and heavy curtains which she deftly hung over the existing, moth-eaten ones.

"Where'd you get those?" I asked her, once we'd made ourselves comfortable sitting on my bed.

"Went down to the front desk and asked the old man behind the counter for some decent curtains because some friends want to sleep in."

"Do you think they know? What we are?"

She shrugged. "They might be suspicious of you guys, but I don't think vampire has crossed their minds yet. Speaking of, are you getting hungry?"

It was my turn to shrug. "A little, but I visited the feeders at lunch yesterday, or whenever it was, so I think I'll survive today at least."

"No worries, two feeders came with us, do you wanna wake Mia and go see them?"

"They came with us? I didn't see anyone else on the plane."

"Then you weren't looking very hard," Rose scolded. "They were in the last row, they slept the whole way."

"Oh, um, yeah okay, can we go?" I smiled, and she laughed before heading over to shake Mia awake.

Mia groaned, and complained a little before Rose mentioned feeders, then she made more of an effort to get up, and soon Rose was leading us down a hallway and into a parlour room of sorts.

Christian was already there, talking to Eddie, and Jesse was still sulking, but by the door as there weren't good curtains in here. Christian smiled at me, a gesture I returned, but I was really thirsty so I approached one of the feeders first. The lady smiled at me, still in her right mind, and arched her neck for me to bite. I drank deeply, feeling her blood fill me to the tips of the fingers and my cheeks. When I'd finished, she nodded, her eyes slightly out of focus.

My bite, for some reason, has been known to be a little stronger than most, so I'll usually be ushered to a feeder who hasn't given a lot of blood to balance it out. Even now, I can see her mental equilibrium struggling to hold her upright. I can't help it, but I feel bad all the same.

Christian wrapped his arm around my shoulders once I sat down with him, and gave me a quick kiss before turning back to Eddie. The two were trying to work out whether or not Kirova was telling the truth when she mention flying on broomsticks.

"It's a load of crap!" Christian exclaimed, "Silly things humans tell each other. Like how we sleep in coffins all day. Absolute bullshit."

"But if they use wand magic, maybe they used a spell to make brooms fly," Eddie argued.

"So what? They sit on a broom a point their wand to steer? Or use magic spells to turn left, and go faster or whatever? I'm telling you, she had us on."

"It could be possible! I want to try flying, don't you? It could be pretty cool."

"I think she was telling the truth," I offered. Her aura had shown no signs of lying during the meeting.

"Hah!" Eddie tapped Christian's chest with his finger, "If Lissa says Kirova wasn't lying; she wasn't lying! They have flying broomsticks!"

Eddie began to do some form of celebratory jiggle around the room, a move which highly amused Mia, and produced another annoyed scowl from Jesse's corner. Rose had remained outside to talk with Dimitri, probably about patrol schedules or something whilst we stay here. Speaking of...

"Hey Eddie," I called. He promptly returned to his seat. "How long are we staying in this placed? Are we moving to another location soon or is this it?"

"Tekovitch says we stay here for three nights, then it's the first of February so we can catch the train Kirova mentioned to take us to the school. We have until then to get uniforms and books, and look around. Apparently the magicians have their own shopping mall called _diagonally_ which we're going to be using."

"Diagonally? Is it in a magical fourth dimension?" I asked, my mind thinking of a mathematical z-axis or something to that effect.

"No, just what they name the place. We're going to get some guide coming up at ten to take us through, show us around, and let us explore the place. Until then we just stay here and get some food into us."

"Speaking of," Christian interrupted, "Shall we head downstairs to see what the breakfast special is?"

"No, we're staying in the rooms we've got. We don't know the area and there are too many people coming and going so it's not secure enough. It's easier to just stay up here and order room service."

"Well where's the phone? Let's get some food." I laughed.

"We already ate, but you're welcome to order more," Eddie said, standing up and heading to the door. He opened it, and Dimitri and Rose stood there arguing about something.

"What is it, Castile?" Dimitri asked, sounding awfully hostile.

"The Princess requires food," Eddie replied, not sounding too pleased with the way Dimitri had addressed him.

Eddie's words, however, seemed to knock Dimitri out of his trance. He stepped in and turned to me. "What would you like? I can go down and get it for you now."

"Just some toast and eggs, please." I said, smiling in an attempt to lighten his mood.

"Anyone else need some food?"

"I'll take a bacon sandwich," Jesse said, not looking up at Dimitri. "Make sure they don't burn it."

"Could I have a croissant, please?" cut in Mia's soft voice. She could be amazingly shy sometimes. I guess Dimitri was a scary-looking man if you didn't know him like Rose and I did.

"I'll be back soon," Dimitri said, once the orders stopped, and he left without another word.

"What was his problem?" Eddie asked Rose, who had followed him over to the table.

"He won't let me be on guard duty in the corridor at night, he says I should just stay with Lissa and not worry about anything else. But that's bullshit, even you're pulling shifts, Eddie!"

"Yeah, because three people is the ideal amount of watchers. Besides, you're better off as an emergency second layer of protection for Lissa inside her room with her."

Rose nodded at Eddie's logic and stood quietly behind him, deep in thought. By that point, Christian's free hand was slowly creeping up my arms and fiddling with the end of my sleeve.

"Cut it out, you fool," I laughed, gently removing his hand. "We've got other things to do."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah-" and before I could even begin to reiterate the whole _moving to the other side of the planet_ thing, not to mention the wizardville trip today, he began kissing me.

I'll admit, it was a bit embarrassing when we were with company and no one else was making conversation, but he's a good kisser, and I responded warmly to him. The arm around my shoulders eased my position closer to him, and he began playing with my hair whilst my hands snuck below his arms and around his waist.

I don't think we were distracted for long, but soon we were interrupted with a loud coughing noise from Rose, and I opened my eyes to see Dimitri back with everyone's breakfast.

I whispered a sorry and thank you before accepting my plate and starting on my breakfast. Eddie's head was on the table, and his shoulders were shaking softly from laughing or crying. I think he was laughing, as Rose was having a hard time keeping a straight face and Mia was bright red as she took a bite out of her croissant.

Christian, as usual, was unfazed by the attention. Which is strange for he's usually the one going unnoticed as opposed to me having my every step watched by guardian's and classmates alike.

The morning passed by uneventfully after that, though I did notice a continuing hostility between Dimitri and Rose, which I thought strange since Rose had seemed to accept Eddie's earlier logic regarding their night patrols. I must be missing something.

At ten o'clock by my watch, though 10:02 by Eddie's, Dimitri arrived, bringing with him the rest of our party and a new stranger. She introduced herself as Harriet Tarringer, a representative of the Department of International Magical Cooperation here to show us around, and she was dressed in a strange emerald robe as though it was the latest fashion. She was introduced to everyone, and after Dimitri nudged her, she gave myself, Christian and Jesse a bemused but respectful bow.

"Right, so are you all excited? I hear you've never seen our kind before, must be strange. Shall we head down now?" Her last question was directed to Dimitri, who shook his head.

"We're waiting for two more."

"Who else is coming?" Rose asked, standing up straighter. "We can protect Lissa without any more help getting in the way!"

"Like it or not, Miss Hathaway, you are still in training and we have three Royals between two guardians. Mr Zeklos also requested he have his own Guardian, so two from a nearby Moroi settlement are on their way to help out."

"So there are some of our kind here?" I asked. _A whole settlement? There must be a spirit user here. Please, oh please may there be one._

"There's about sixty or so living a two-hour drive southwest of London. They mostly keep to themselves but have risen to our arrival quite well, there aren't a lot of Royals out here."

"We're not a showcase for them," Christian remarked.

"You are still strangers. English Moroi don't see a lot of outsiders, as very few of us will even leave the America's for a holiday let alone a permanent move."

"Makes sense though, _we_ have no idea what kind of dangers are out here." Eddie said.

"What are you all on about?" Harriet laughed, "You make it sound as though there are dark wizards waiting outside this door for you."

"Dark what?" Rose demanded, taking a step closer to Harriet.

Harriet mumbled defensively, muttering something about wizards and death eating. Strange concept, if you ask me. Either way, I sent some calming thoughts through the bond to Rose. She looked at me and gave me a brief nod before resuming her position by the wall.

"Like any community," Dimitri lectured, "There are bound to be unfriendlies. We have to be on our guard even if the Strigoi threat is highly unlikely."

A knock on the door put all the Dhampirs on high alert, and Dimitri only relaxed when a distinct knocking pattern was repeated. He opened the door to reveal two female Dhampirs in matching Guardian Black.

"You're the Guardian's Torresville sent?" Dimitri asked, looking at them suspiciously.

"Yes, can we come in?" One replied. Once the two were in and the door closed again, she introduced herself. "I'm Kathryn, daughter of Leon Szelsky. This is my sister Annalise. It's an honour to serve you all." She must have immediately picked myself for the Royal as she came over to drop to her knees and bow her head. Her sister, with whom the only difference I could find was a slight chestnut streak in her otherwise brown hair, followed suit, but the two were quickly brought in line by Dimitri.

"Whilst we appreciate your commitment, those kind of actions are not necessary and hinder the entire groups' time. Just know they all appreciate you helping out."

The two nodded vigorously and stood.

"What's the plan, captain?" Kathryn asked.

Dimitri made sure we were all listening before detailing how the trip would work.

"The two Szelsky Guardians will be far guards, leading the group. They know the area better than we do so will know all the hiding places to look for threats. Rose, you are to be beside the Princess the entire time. Eddie, you're responsible for Mr. Zeklos, and Kat, you'll be with Christian. The rest of you students will remain with the group, no wandering off alone. Mia, stick by Rose and Lissa if you're worried, but we should be right. I will be not too far behind you and Guardian Tekovitch will be further behind me keeping an eye on everything. Understood?"

We all nodded. Dimitri did not take ventures like this lightly, and I could see he wasn't happy about assigning students to real fieldwork with such big numbers.

"I thought one of them was for me." Jesse complained from his corner.

"Very well," Dimitri said, "You can walk ahead with the two of them. Let's go."

Harriet led us downstairs without further ado, though we were held up as Dimitri and Tekovitch scanned the bar area downstairs for any signs of danger. I think we have the upper hand as our eyesight and hearing skills are not clouded by the smoke as most of these non-vampire magician people are. Although I have to hand it to Harriet, she knew exactly where she was going as she led us out a back door. She must come here often.

In a dingy alleyway with a dead-end, she pulled a wand from somewhere within her robes and tapped the wall. It began to shift and move, and I felt Rose move closer to me as it did.

Eventually the bricks rearranged themselves into two pillars, between which now sprawled a magical lane way. _This must be that place called Diagonally_. There were more people dressed in silly robes, owls and rats everywhere, pointy hats, cauldrons, funny smells, the occasional small explosion, small goblin looking things carrying bags that looked much to heavy for them. It was so much to take in and we all eagerly stepped forward.

Harriet, at the front of the group with the Szelsky girls and Jesse, said something along the lines of "Welcome to-" but I could barely hear her, there was so much going on, but it was an amazing place, I couldn't wait to look in every funny looking store. They each looked a hundred years old, with glass shop fronts filled with the most bizarre items.

It was simply amazing. Magical.


	3. Chapter 3: Diagon Alley

**Chapter Three - Diagon Alley**

_**A/N**: Welcome back! Sorry it's taken me a while, but unfortunately I am at uni so free writing isn't on top of my list of priorities. Well, it shouldn't be but... hehe... Anyways, it's time for the gang to experience some real witches and wizards! __Hope you enjoy the next installment! _:)

_**Disclaimer:** The following story is based on the excellent works of J.K. Rowling and Richelle Mead, they are not mine. Not including the characters you don't recognise, which are mine (that's Katalina, Tekovitch, Harriet, Kathryn, Annalise, Jason, Samuel, Pauline and Alexie)_

_..._

Before we got a chance to get a good look around at the strange shops in front of us, Harriet and the Szelsky Dhampirs led us through the cobbled streets to a robe shop. She explained we needed to get uniforms, and they would be modified once we got to Hogwarts and we were sorted into houses.

"What houses?" Meredith asked, confused.

"At Hogwarts, students are sorted into one of four houses. They are Slytherin, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Gryffindor."

"I need to be with Lissa," Rose said quickly, "I'm her Guardian."

"It's not a random sorting, Miss Hathaway," Harriet explained, "The Sorting Hat chooses the House which best reflects your qualities."

"Such as?" Eddie asked.

"Well, Ravenclaw tends to be full of the more academically inclined." Harriet began, unsure if she should be the one to explain the Housing system to them all. "Whereas Hufflepuff are the more relaxed but kind students. Gryfindor's are the outgoing, brave students, and Slytherin are, well, the smart but sneaky ones. All Houses have positive and negative attributes, but they don't always define a person."

"I'm not sure this is a good idea," Dimitri said, "We may have an exception to keep our group together for now for safety reasons."

Harriet didn't know what to say to that, which I thought was a miracle in itself for she had been talking non-stop so far, describing various shops and what they contained, though she was too far ahead of me to understand her.

Inside the shop, a short, plumpish woman in deep purple robes ushered our group into a separate room and introduced herself as Madam Malkins, the owner and operator of the shop. It sold school uniforms as well as everyday and dress robes. Yes, I said _robes_.

Following that was a two-hour session of prodding, poking, occasionally getting stabbed by a pin and the resulting "ouch", and the constant "stand up straighter, please," from an ever increasingly impatient Madam Malkins. Meredith and Rose each received one warning, but the main victims of her directions were Christian and Jesse, who kept slouching and fidgeting as the seamstress worked.

I was fitted first, whilst Mia stood beside me and was fitted by an old lady. She didn't say anything the entire time she was with us. Her grey hair was pulled in a tight bun, and her black robes swished around her thin frame like water.

Once Mia and I had our uniforms, they were wrapped up and put in paper parcels for us to carry. It looked quite bulky but then I picked it up and it was as light as a feather. Madam Malkins saw my shock and explained she had lightening charms placed on all her wares when they were sold. _Lightening Charms_.

I severely underestimated the uses of magic. We were all thinking levitation and flying, and here the magicians are just making all of their purchases lighter than air. It's cheating, really; half the fun of shopping trips is trying to carry around everything. Or making boyfriends carry it all.

Dimitri pulled a number of gold coins out of his pocket to pay for our uniforms. He explained they were not English pounds but a currency unique to the witches and wizards called _Galleons_. They were split into Knuts and Sickles but I can't remember the units, all I know is it's not ten Knuts to a Sickle or anything simple and easy to remember.

After the robe shop we were escorted to a bookshop called Flourish and Blotts. I felt right at home, until I started looking at the book titles and seeing things like _Transfiguration Spells of the 1940's_ and _The After-Effects of Illegal Dragon Egg Trafficking_. I understood little of it, but all I needed was a couple of potion making books, as I'd elected to take on Potions. Dimitri had shown us a list this morning of the classes we were allowed to take, and no way was I letting by a chance to make potions; I'm in a magic school, I'm going to make something!

Rose wanted to take the same extra class as me, but Dimitri told her she probably wouldn't do well in potions. She then opted to take Care of Magical Creatures, but once again Dimitri said no, as Dhampirs and animals tend not to mix well. In the end, she took Astronomy, and quickly found out a very thick book full of star charts and planet trajectories. She was none too pleased, but we were told we should do at least one Hogwarts subject to help us integrate.

I also wanted to do something like Herbology (magical botany) or a magical history class, but to do that I would have to then nine or ten classes each day. With me doing Potions, I would miss a couple classes here and there and catch up on them in the next class, but if I chose to do more Hogwarts classes, they would clash with too much of my normal classes and I would have to make up for them at the end of the day.

Katalina is doing just that. She really wanted to do all of the subjects we were offered, but Dimitri drew the line at three; so she's doing Potions, Herbology and Ancient Runes. Christian is doing Potions just to stay with me, and Eddie signed up for History of Magic after becoming absorbed in the respective textbook.

Mia signed on for Herbology, apparently being quite the gardener like her father; Meredith is doing History of Magic, and Rose says it's because she likes Eddie and is just following him; Jason is doing Potions; Samuel is doing Ancient Runes; and Jesse is taking Care of Magical Creatures. Rose speculated that Jesse only took Care of Magical Creatures because no one else did and he wants to get away from us.

I can't say I'm all that fussed, he's been nothing but sour since he got here. I realise none of his friends are here, but he could at least try and embrace our situation and loosen up a little. Instead, he just mopes around all day and whenever he does assimilate, it's with his cutting remarks to us or orders to Dimitri and Tekovitch. He hasn't even acknowledged the Szelsky girls, probably because he hasn't gotten over Dhampirs holding Royal names.

That _is_ a unique situation, it doesn't happen a lot. In the states, when a male Royal has a Dhampir kid, the kid will take the mother's name. Dhampirs rarely even know their father's identity, anyway; I know Eddie doesn't.

Every now and then, a male Royal will have a long term relationship with a Dhampir, but any kids they have aren't allowed to take their name, and receive no benefits of being a Royal apart from any gifts straight from the father. They themselves don't have access to the Royal funds or secret getaways. It's a rule the Court came up with a few centuries ago to stop Dhampir Royals claiming access to Royal funds, or better treatment within the Court or the Guardian systems.

Once all our new books were sorted, Harriet took us to a fancy restaurant for lunch. Dimitri was able to secure a private room upstairs for us, so that saved us from all the staring. You'd think they'd never seen tall pale people before? I know we stand out a little but these people grew up using wands and flying brooms, and dragons apparently, so surely they could be a little less judgmental?

I wasn't hungry so just ordered a small salad, and Christian, Mia and Jesse followed suit. The Dhampirs, however, ordered a number of fish, steak and chicken dishes and ate them as though it was there last meal. The morning hadn't been that demanding had it?

Tekovitch also disappeared for a little and returned with one of the feeders from this morning so the four of us each had a little blood to fill us up. We'd drunk this morning so we weren't really in need of blood, but little extra can always help.

After lunch, Harriet steered us to yet another strange shop. It was an apothecary; as myself, Christian, Katalina and Jason needed to get some ingredients to take for Potions class. We also stopped by Potage's Cauldron shop, for one pewter cauldron each, and not bronze or gold or brass, and especially not a brass one embedded with quartz, jade and blue sapphire stones around the base. Harriet reprimanded Christian for looking at it for too long.

The last stop was Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment. There, we bought phials for Potions, and Rose found a telescope for her Astronomy class. Mia and Katalina also bought gloves and various gardening tools for Herbology.

By the time we'd finished purchasing things we needed for Hogwarts, the sun was getting low, so Dimitri called an end to the day. We made our way back through the now almost empty street. Many stores were shut, and the lights inside were now off. A few shady looking characters were wandering the streets, but they steered well clear of our big group.

Back at the Leaky Cauldron, Dimitri took us all back to the large parlour we had, whilst Harriet went to the bar to organise for some dinner to be sent up. Rose, Mia and I went to our room to put our new school items away and get changed.

Rose went for a casual I-don't-care-right-now outfit of jeans and a white shirt with some Chinese writing on it. I wonder if she knows what it says? Rose must have heard me, for she just laughed and poked her tongue out at me.

Mia and I both wore dresses. I wore a pale pink dress with a white sash around my waist and some white ballet flats. Mia pulled out a soft blue dress that went to her knees and then put a summer jacket over it that was a slightly darker blue. She also wore black flats to bring out the thin black swirls around the bottom of her dress.

In the parlour room, the boys were all already waiting, with Jason and Samuel taking a similar approach to Rose when dressing for dinner. Eddie and Christian looked somewhat formal in black pants with a green and red button-down shirt respectively, and Dimitri and Tekovitch were both standing by the door in Guardian Black. Jesse wore his rich clothes all wrinkled, as usual. It was a trend for him and his gang, but it just made him look sloppy.

Katalina and Meredith came soon after us, with Meredith wearing a deep blue dress with short sleeves and white frills at her knees where the dress stopped. Katalina wore a dark green dress that fell gracefully to the floor, and also wore a thin black cardigan that was held to her waist with a plain belt. It surprised me how nice she looked, I guess I'm just used to Rose either wearing loose training clothes or revealing, borderline-skimpy dresses.

"You didn't _have_ to dress up, you know?" Rose teased, laughing at Meredith who nervously pulled at her sleeve.

"You don't _have_ to look like a slob, you know?" Katalina retorted, pulled distastefully at Roses loose shirt.

"I'm not here to impress," Rose said, her hips on her shoulders.

"You should be, the Hogwarts principle is joining us for dinner, remember?"

"_What_?!" Rose turned to me and I gave her a smile.

"Don't you remember? I told you this morning, before we woke Mia up?" I had told her, we discussed what he might look like, and if he'd have a witch's hat like the ones we wear for Halloween.

"No..." she said slowly, and I could see her going through my mind to confirm the morning's conversation. "Why didn't you say something when we got back?"

"I didn't realise you forgot; I thought you were just being lazy and wouldn't appreciate me telling you to dress up." More than true, it's happened before. Rose just doesn't care when it comes to wearing nice clothes to give good impressions.

"Damn it! I'm going back to change!" And with that she darted out of the room.

"Maybe you two should get changed, too." Mia laughed, looking at Jason and Samuel. They grumbled and left the room. Mia's gaze flew over Jesse, but I knew she wouldn't tell a Royal what to do.

"Jesse, are you going to put something nice on?" I said, looking at him.

He gave me an unimpressed look before pointing out "These clothes are expensive."

"Yes, but they're all wrinkled. Surely you've got something in better condition?"

"No," was all he said, before looking back at the wall. Mia gave me an at-least-you-tried look.

"The Professor will be arriving soon," Dimitri announced, his deep voice thick with his Russian accent. "For now you can take your places at the table."

He indicated a set of double doors, and Eddie quickly pulled them wide open to reveal a long table set for eighteen; the ten students, our two guardians, the Szelsky girls, Harriet, the principle and two more people who I guess would be coming with the Principle.

"Our guest, as principle of your new school, will be seated at the head of the table." Dimitri told us. "There are name placards on each plate, _please_ sit according to those cards."

I was seated to the right of the head chair, where a card named the principle "Dumbledore". _What a funny name_. Christian was on my right, followed by a spare seat for Dimitri. Across from me was Jesse and then Mia. I guess as Royals we were seated at the head, and Mia, as a Moroi, joined us there. Further down from Mia sat the two Szelsky girls, though their seats were currently empty, then Rose, Eddie, Katalina and Meredith. On my side, after Christian and Dimitri, came Tekovitch, then Harriet, Jason, Samuel and, to my surprise, the two feeders sat at the end.

I know they need to eat and all, but as a general rule I suppose, they don't ever join our meals. I guess this is a unique situation with just the small group of us living together.

Once we'd sat down, Christian tried to talk to Jesse. From the start I knew this wasn't going to go well, especially as I opened my eyes to Jesse's aura and saw it darken and a streak of red appeared as Christian addressed him.

"Looking forward to the new school, Zeklos?" Christian asked, fiddling with his glass whilst looking at Jesse.

"Oh just so much, _Ozera_." Jesse said, giving Christian a filthy look. _Oh, here we go_.

"Care of Magical Creatures, right? What do you think you'll be studying? How to train dragons for joy rides?"

"Actually, they don't train dragons." Jesse explained. I could see him fighting to keep his voice even. "They're these big, angry, fire-breathing beasts that have to be kept in enclosure's to keep them a secret from the humans."

_Wow, he's sure been reading his textbook. I haven't even opened mine yet._

"You sound scared," Christian grinned, "Can't you deflect fire?"

"You're an idiot, Ozera, they are _giant_, _beasts_. They have powerful magic in them and are virtually untrainable. Not to mention, you know, claws, spiked tails, and all that jazz. I can't imagine _you'd_ be all that eager to go and say hi to one."

"I'm not the one who chose to do that class, am I?"

"No, that's right, you're following your girlfriend. Don't you have a mind of your own?"

"How do you know I don't want to do Potions anyway? It looks pretty cool. There's a potion that looks like orange juice, but it's actually a potion to cause warts all over the skin. It's easy to slip it into an enemy's glass."

Jesse's aura went slightly moss-green. He hadn't expected a threat like that from Christian. I hadn't either. _I should try and calm this down. Mia's looking very uncomfortable having to sit next to him_.

"So what _will_ you be looking at, Jesse?" I asked. His aura softened a little, though Christian had wound him up pretty well.

"The book doesn't say," he replied, looking down to play with his fork. "It's just full of these magical creatures and their pictures."

"Does yours have moving pictures, too?" Mia suddenly asked, looking excited. "The Herbology textbook I full of moving pictures of all these plants, it's amazing!"

Jesse looked down at her; he had treated her very nastily ever since she fell from her high standing at school when trying to ruin Rose and myself. And the fact that her parents worked for, or had in the case of her mother, a Royal family as servants did not help.

"Yeah," was all he said, before turning to stare out the window. Mia went red with embarrassment before she looked down, her blonde hair falling to cover most of her face.

I sighed, and gave Christian a _well-done-asshole_ look. He just shrugged at me a whispered "It's not my fault he's such a dick." and Mia must have heard for she looked up a little and giggled.

"So what's going on?" Asked Rose from behind me. She'd finally returned, now wearing one of my dresses; of course she didn't bring her own, not that they'd be suitable for this dinner anyway. The white material around the bust was a little tight for her, but the green belt and purple skirt of the dress fell nicely and the overall effect was quite nice, if a little comical.

_Why did you put that belt on? You _know_ it doesn't match. At all. _Either she didn't hear me or didn't have a chance to formulate a reply.

"You're over hear next to me, Rose," Eddie said, indicating the seat to his right.

"Why can't I sit next to you?" Rose asked me, moving to stand behind the head seat.

"Because the new principle is sitting there," I told her, "And Dimitri seated us all this way."

Rose scowled but moved over to her assigned seat.

"How long until we eat, d'you reckon?" Samuel asked, "I'm starving."

"But you ate so much at lunch!" Mia exclaimed. "How could you possibly be hungry?"

"It's in my blood," Samuel winked.

"Plus," Katalina added, "we weren't just shopping today, you Moroi were, but us Dhampirs had assignments."

I looked at Rose questioningly and she nodded. "If you didn't notice then we were doing alright. We'd scout ahead whilst in the street, and through each store we visited. Why do you think we kept pointing you guys to the front windows first? We went inside and checked each room first. Who knows what could have been in there?"

"Yeah, like that hag looking thing in the ingredients shop?" Eddie said, laughing and looking over to Jason and Samuel. "Weird looking thing, that was."

"Yeah," Jason said, making a face. "And I got to stand by it whilst you guys found what you needed."

"You had to stand by it?" Mia asked.

"Yeah, I was just pretending to flick through a shop inventory whilst standing near it. It wouldn't have noticed I was there to make sure it stayed away from you guys."

"Huh," I said, "Why couldn't you tell us?"

"You didn't need to know," Rose said, "Besides, it means we did it right if you didn't even notice, which is good for the future of our careers because we will be put in similar situations, especially if we're assigned to Royal families who like to go out as a family."

"It's your duty," Jesse said suddenly, "You don't need to tell us about what you do, just do it quietly."

"Keep your mouth shut, Jesse!" Rose shouted, making to stand up and go over to him but Eddie put a restraining hand on her shoulder. "You spoilt, Royal little twirp!"

"Funny, that's not what you said when you first came back after your two year holiday."

"You're damn straight it's not!"

"Enough, Jesse." Katalina said suddenly. Funny, I didn't pick her as someone to stand up to a Royal like Jesse. "Why don't you try and be nice for once?"

"What's the point?" he asks, cocking his head slightly. "I'm the entitled one here, I don't have to work hard to get a good job or anything."

"Why you-" Rose began.

"Enough!" Dimitri suddenly said from right behind me. "The Headmaster will be here any minute. _Behave_."

"Where are the Szelsky's?" Tekovitch asked, appearing by Dimitri.

"Waiting in some Parisian Courtyard for the Headmaster," Dimitri answered, unsure if he'd heard the courtyard name properly. "Harriet's with them."

"Well, that's everyone. The owner said there's a load of protection around the building so we should be right." Dimitri nodded and the two took their places along the table.

"What's for dinner?" Eddie asked, trying to lighten the mood.

"There's a number of dishes being prepared for us," Dimitri answered, "It'll be ready in half an hour, so until then you are to remain at ease, and make _polite_ conversation with the Headmaster or amongst yourselves; none of that bickering. That includes you, Mr Zeklos, I don't care how entitled you think you are."

Jesse blanched a little and nodded, Dimitri's tone left no room for arguing.

There was a knock at the door, and I turned around to see Harriet, Kathryn and Annalise walk in, followed by the oldest man I'd ever seen. He made Victor Dashkov look young and healthy. He had a long, grey beard and his hair continued long down his back, too. He wore elaborate deep purple robes that were embedded with gold stars and crescent shapes that twinkled in the light. He also had a matching hat, and although it had no wide brim, it was very tall.

"Good evening, everyone," he said, his soft voice quite melodic for an old man. No croakiness whatsoever.

"Please, sit here, Professor," Harriet said, indicating the chair by me.

"Of course, thank you." he made his way over and sat down, his footsteps not making a sound. I tried to look at his aura but it blinded me, just a mesh of solid, bright colours, with flecks of gold; but flung out to his right side was a deep gash of red, blue and black. He'd lost someone; someone he loved dearly.

The three women sat down and we were dropped in silence. The principle gazed around, taking in everyone's appearance. Then he turned to me.

"Might you be Princess Vasilisa Dragomir?" he asked, smiling at me, his eyes twinkling behind half-moon spectacles.

"Yes, sir," I answered politely, though unsure of how to address him. "But please, call me Lissa. And what might your name be?"

"At the very least, I may call you Miss Dragomir," he smiled, "I am not a classmate. Forgive me; I am Professor Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

"And how are you, professor?"

"I'm quite good. Apparition does not do good things for me, though, I do not think I will be able to eat much tonight." He gave such a genuinely kind smile that I was a little taken aback.

"Er... Apparition? Sir?"

"Teleportation, my dear."

"Woah, teleportation? Can you teach us?" Samuel said from down the table. He looked happy at the idea, but shrunk under everyone's gazes as we turned to look at him.

"I'm not even sure if you can, but we can try if you like. Apparition training is not until you're sixteen, though."

Samuel looked deflated and sat back in his chair. _He's fifteen, he might not get that chance to try. Kirova said we'd be here for a year at most_.

"I hear you are all interested in taking Hogwarts classes while you stay." Dumbledore said, trying to draw the others out of their silence. "Anyone like to share what they chose?"

"I was looking at Herbology, sir," Mia spoke up, "My father's quite the gardener, and he taught me a lot, but you study very different plants here."

"That's nice. Yes they study the more magical plants in Herbology so be careful, they sometimes fight back when you try to prune or re-pot them. What is your name?"

"Mia Rinaldi, sir." she replied, looking a little confused at the idea of plants fighting.

"What about Potions? Do they talk back, too?" Christian asked.

"Not any that I've come across, though I'm sure it exists somewhere, you shall have to inquire with the Potions teacher Professor Snape." Dumbledore looked at Christian expectantly.

He didn't get the hint so I had to give him a little nudge with my elbow.

"Oh – er, I'm Christian Ozera." _Sigh_.

"And who might be Katalina Petrovsky?" Dumbledore asked.

"I am, sir," Katalina replied from down the table.

"I hear you're planning to take on three extra classes. Are you sure you can manage missing so many of your regular classes?"

"Yes, sir, I've had it organised with the Guardians, and some I've asked some classmates to take extra notes for me when I miss classes, and I'll see the teachers at the end of each day to see what I missed." She didn't seem daunted at all. I know I'll be able to give her my notes and she can use them, but Rose is going to be taking Katalina's notes when the two of us take Potions And, well, Rose barely pays attention as it is; I've never even seen her take notes. She must have heard that last thought because she gave _a look_.

"That's nice, so which subjects have you selected?"

"Potions, Herbology and Ancient Runes."

"Hmm. They are not particularly easy subjects for one so new to our world, but you may prove me wrong. Who else do we have?" He searching gaze rested on Jesse.

"Jesse Zeklos, sir," he said. He sure knew how to be nice when he wanted to be. "I'm taking Care of Magical Creatures."

"Ah, interested in animals are we?"

"A little. I wasn't quite sure of any of the other classes so I thought, why not?" Jesse finished with a shrug, albeit a small one.

"Well, best pay attention. You're not going to drop out of the class half way through because you get bored of it." Before Jesse could formulate a reply, Dumbledore moved on down the table. "Who might you be?"

"Kathryn Szelsky, sir. My sister Annalise and I are from Torresville. I don't think our two groups really mix with each other."

"No, it's a shame. So much potential. Will you be coming with the students to Hogwarts?"

"If it's alright with you," Dimitri answered, "We were only able to take myself and Guardian Tekovitch here from the school until everyone else comes out."

"Yes, of course. Though there isn't too much danger at Hogwarts. Just the occasional spell gone wrong or bite from a Bowtruckle."

"A Bow-what?" Rose asked.

"A Bowtruckle." Dumbledore answered with a slight chuckle. "Maybe _you_ should be taking Care of Magical Creatures. Or are you? I'm not sure, who might you be?"

"I'm Rose Hathaway, and I've signed up for Astronomy. No particular reason, but apparently it's got to do with predicting the future."

"You may have mistaken a Divination book for the Astronomy one. Astronomy is merely observing planetary motions and stars."

Rose looked a little defeated. Maybe she got the wrong book?

"Can I switch to Divination then?" Rose asked eagerly. What does she want to look into the future for?

"I'm afraid not, Divination is a peculiar subject with very few managing to master the art. It's a magical ability from within, and Muggles are found to have very little capability for it."

"I'm not a Muggle," Rose said, confused. _What _is_ a Muggle?_

"Ah of course, you are a Dhampir, I believe? Half-vampire half-human?"

"Yeah" Rose said, earning a stern look from Dimitri which led her to re-evaluate her response. "Yes, sir, I am a Dhampir."

"How interesting..." Dumbledore mused. "Who else haven't I met?"

"I'm Eddie Castile," Eddie said with a wave, "Er, hi. I'm taking History of Magic; the book looked really interesting. There were a lot of wars mentioned in there. Is everything ok now?"

"Interesting question, with some very long answers I'm afraid; but you will no doubt find it within the class itself." The Headmaster's answer left Eddie looked a little bewildered, and Meredith took his silence as an opportunity to introduce herself.

"I'm Meredith McDonnell; I'm taking History of Magic, too. I wonder if maybe our people shares the same roots as yours?" She said, all in one breath.

"I'm sure everyone shared roots at some point." Dumbledore answered, taking on a thoughtful scholar's expression. "I cannot say I have ever come across your kind in any of our books, though."

Meredith gave a small pout, but Samuel took over. "Hi, I'm Samuel Ramirez. I'm taking Ancient Runes; I like studying different languages."

"Then Ancient Runes shall be a good subject for you. It covers multiple scripts so you should be kept on your toes. Are you bilingual, by chance?"

"Yes, sir, I speak Portuguese with my grandparents, their English isn't very good. And I know some Italian and Japanese."

"But we study Russian at school, why do you know Italian and Japanese?" Mia asked, looking puzzled.

"It's a hobby of mine," Samuel shrugged. "I don't know that much."

I noticed Katalina smile, it was an understatement-of-the-century kind of smirk. Perhaps the two of them study together?Except; they're in different years. Katalina is in Rose's class, but Jason and Samuel are in Mia's class, one below us. Advanced classes, maybe? Rose said Katalina was smart, and Samuel admitted to studying languages for fun.

"And I'm Jason Holladay." Jason gave another wave, finishing off the introductions. "I'm taking potions; it just looked interesting."

"Very nice. All around it seems like a good vibe." Dumbledore nodded approvingly. "I'm looking forward to introducing you to everyone at Hogwarts. They don't yet know you are even coming."

"Surely you should have told them by now?" Dimitri asked, "In a few weeks, our entire school faculty will be coming. Shouldn't they receive a warning of sorts, the school will be at its maximum capacity at the very least."

"All will be fine. The staff know, of course, and arrangements have been made so that everyone will fit in the Great Hall for meals, and there have been extension charms on all of the House dormitories to make sure everyone of your students has a place of their own."

"What about us?" I asked. "The Moroi, we cannot handle a lot of direct sunlight. It makes us very dizzy and weak, and we get terrible skin rashes. Plus our eyes are very sensitive so it hurts when the sun is out because everything is so bright and reflective."

"Ah yes, unfortunately you will be unable to participate in outdoor classes without some form of protection. I suggest sun umbrellas, sun-glasses and the like. If you wish to try flying, then I can arrange with our Quidditch Coach Madam Hooch for evening lessons."

"What if we have outdoor classes?" Mia asked, "Herbology would be outside, wouldn't it?"

"Yes, you will need to make sure you bring water, and wear long sleeves to cover your skin as much as you can. That's all I can suggest for now, I'm afraid, but I'm sure the senior Potions students will delight in a challenge to find some form of lotion to help protect you. I shall speak to the staff tonight about it."

There was a sudden popping noise and an ugly-looking creature appeared by my side. It bowed to Dumbledore and said that dinner was nowprepared if we were ready to eat.

"I believe we are, send it up." Dumbledore replied. The thing disappeared and suddenly our plates were full of food. Mine held a steak with beautifully roasted potatoes and pumpkin, with a dark sauce filling the plate. Christian had a similar dish but with chicken, and he had tomatoes instead of pumpkin.

"Where did the food come from?" Mia asked, looking hesitantly at her steak.

"The House Elves make it in the kitchens," Dumbledore explained, cutting straight into his potatoes. "and then it is sent up here with a few enchantments. Hogwarts serves meals in a similar fashion."

Down the table, the Dhampirs were already digging into their dinner, not caring to question where it came from. Honestly, it could be poisoned and they wouldn't know nor care.

All in all, the evening was a good one. We had ice-cream for desert, and there was a little organising on Dimitri's end as he asked where we would be staying at the castle, and where we would be holding classes and so forth. Dumbledore insisted that we enjoy the meal and the two, or three if Tekovitch was to be there, could discuss the plans tomorrow.

Dumbledore asked about our school, and of the Strigoi threat we faced, to which Kathryn passionately denied any existence of in the UK, though she couldn't be entirely certain of Scotland.

He also asked of our elemental powers, and Mia helped by demonstrating her water abilities and creating a swirl of her drink, water, and spinning it around her hand for the professor to see. Christian also set the flower arrangement in the centre of the table on fire, but quickly put it out after Dimitri told him to behave.

"I must ask you to not perform any of those tricks on students," Dumbledore said, sending a warning look Christian's way. "Your magic is quite different to ours, I don't want any trouble between the two student bodies."

"Of course, sir," Christian nodded, "I would never do anything as rash as setting a student on fire."

Jesse choked on his drink at that, whilst Mia tried not to laugh. She wasn't in the class when Christian set Ralf on fire, but would no doubt have heard of it.

Dumbledore left soon after, promising to meet us at King's Cross Station at 10:30 on the first of February, saying he had matters to attend to back at the school.

I retired soon after, being quite worn out after all the walking around of the day, and Rose came with me. Mia stayed to talk with Christian, the two no doubt planning offensive magic sessions whilst Dimitri and Tekovitch were gone. The two Guardians had escorted Harriet and Dumbledore back to the Parisian Room, though I don't think that's actually what it's called, so they could finish discussing the plans for us when we arrived at Hogwarts.

I'll admit; I'm starting to get a little excited about the new school. Now that we'd collected all the things we needed for Hogwarts, we were free for the next two days to just explore the Magic Alley Whose Name Still Escapes Me. I'll have to ask Harriet tomorrow.

Eddie voiced his plans over dinner of visiting a shop he saw with brooms in the display windows, and they looked very well-polished and taken care of. Mia and I wanted to have a proper look through the Magical Menagerie we saw, which was full of owls for some strange reason; who buys owls for pets?

Rose wants to go look for wands to see if they'll work for her, and Katalina said something about spending the next two days in the book store Flourish and Blotts. Or at least as much time as she can without putting the Moroi in danger. She's amazingly accepting of her place in life, protecting us, and not following her own joys more passionately. I can't quite say what she does enjoy, but she seems to be one of those knowledge hungry people. I'm a little like that, but to a point. Katalina just doesn't stop.

Samuel and Jason talked little, but I did hear them mention an ice-cream parlour they wanted to check out. Apparently they have strange flavours like _Dragon Fried Cookie Dough_. I'll tell you one thing; the owner of that store knows how to pull customers in.

I should really try and get some sleep if we're going to have another day like today.

...

_**A/N:** Tada! Hope you liked that. Next chapter will be the rest of their stay at Diagon Alley and the train ride to Hogsmeade, so chapter five we should be at Hogwarts! I say should only because I tend to turn one night into 5000 odd words without meaning to. Sorry :\_

_Thanks so much for the reviews I've gotten so far, don't forget to leave one and tell me what you think!_

_Also, out of curiosity, does anyone want any specific characters in specific houses? I've already got them in houses and I'm happy with where they are, but I'd like to hear what you guys think before I publish it because I may change them :)_


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